Photograph
by Emphor
Summary: AsukaMeimi It’s near the end of vacation, and Meimi has another alias to add to her list. bad summary Read instead!
1. Chapter 1

**Title**: Photograph

**Author**: Reanizon

**Rating**: M (Okay, so there are some swear words here and there but hey, I consider 'idiot' to be a swear word so what do I know?)

**Disclaimer**: I don't own, in any shape or form, Kaitou Saint Tail or any of the characters in the anime/manga/etc. It's nice to dream, though. XD

**Author's** **notes**: This has got to be the very first fic I've ever written. Come to think of it, I think this is the very first story I've ever written in my entire life, seeing that I'm more comfortable with pencils and an art pad. I just had to get this off my chest and probably (hopefully) doing so will 'force' me to finally finish this story since it's been sitting in my desktop ever since before..unfinished yet complete in my mind. Oh, and I wrote this in pure fun. Ho hum. Slightly OOC; AU. Characters are around 17 years old. Not beta-ed. I'm a sucky slow writer. And I suck at writing, period. Nuff said. Any questions?

**Summary**: Asuka/Meimi; It's summer, and Meimi has another alias to add to her list: new aspiring young model.

She moved surely, hiking her tote bag over her shoulder, pulling along her small luggage and making her way through the crowd of hurrying immigrants and tourists to the exit of the Kyoto Airport. Several pairs of eyes—at least those who weren't too busy looking for their passports and papers in their bags—turned towards her with small pleasant smiles and awes on their faces. Well, who wouldn't take a glance at the young female passing by them? Here was a young woman — shiny, wavy, fiery hair on her head; her skin glowed a creamy tan as a result of the hour-long photo shoots by the beach, and her white and yellow cotton sundress fitted her teenage figure like a glove. It seemed as if some invisible force parted the crowds for this young model as she passed through the arrivals exit.

Dark sunglasses hid her blue eyes as she scanned the crowd outside and searched for, "Meimi!" She turned towards the shouting voice and automatically, a large smile found its permanent place on her face.

"Mom," she called happily and waved. "Dad!" Tugging her luggage behind her, she ran towards her parents once they reached each other, grasped one another in a big welcoming embrace. She felt happy to be home at last.

"Hi, Honey, we missed you!" Eimi cried, hugging her daughter.

"How's Nana doing?" Genichiro asked as he took the luggage from Meimi and started towards the parking lot.

"Grandma's great, Dad. She says felt bad you two couldn't come along with me but I explained your show situation. By the way," she peered through her shades, "how _was_ your show?" She knew the reason her parents didn't come along on the trip was because it was their chance to spend a summer alone together. As if they don't spend enough time alone already, Meimi mumbled to herself. However, she didn't tell her grandmother this lest she broke down crying and complaining that her son and his lovely wife did not want to visit an old woman, living alone in her summerhouse at Okinawa. No, she told her that her son had an important client to please. This, and the client wouldn't wait for any other time of the year for the job to be carried out.

Ah, love, she thought and shrugged the frighteningly horrid image of her parents being lovey-dovey with each other out of her head.

"That seven day cruise was just divine, wasn't it, Honey?" Eimi clasped her hands together as she looked giddily at her husband loading the luggage into the trunk of the car. They all got in the vehicle and started on their way home.

"Sure was, Sweetheart," he smiled. "You should've come with us, Meimi. Their entertainment was just excellent. The pool was large, the food was great, and their stage performances…" On and on it goes—I don't think I want to know about the oldies singing karaoke on Monday night, Meimi gave a feeble smile in that 'um, okay' sort of look. She gazed out the window and focused on a cloud and her mind wandered to what happened that summer.

Three days into her vacation and Meimi had found herself napping on a sandy beach towel, sunglasses shading her eyes from the brightness of the sun, one hand behind her head and the other holding her melting fruit shake. She had told her grandmother that she was just going out for a light tan at the beachfront and would be back before lunch. However, it seemed that fate would allow her to return to her grandma's house just before dinner.

A shadow cast above her head for a moment and she heard a click and the somehow familiar sound of a camera shutter going off and after the snapshot had been taken, one of her eyes peered open. Standing over her head was a young man holding a camera.

"Hi. I'm sorry I took your picture without asking you first. It's just that you had that natural lying pose that I had to take one. I'm Kensuke," the young man said holding his hand out towards her.

Meimi sat up and slowly took it in hers. "Mailah," she lied. Since when did she give out her name to strangers who interrupted her beach time? "Okay… what did you take my picture for, anyway?" Deep in her mind she was thinking that this person was some sort of pervert posing as a famous photographer and taking pictures of females for his private collection of Beach Babes: Volume Who Knows What.

"I'm the photographer for the Summer Magazine and I was looking for inspiration for this month's cover," Kensuke fished an identification card from inside his polo and showed it to Meimi. She nodded her understanding. He pointed to the ice cream stall about twenty meters away. "I saw your hair from over there—really shiny strawberry red—very dazzling in the sunlight…. Hey, if you want to earn some money over your vacation, give me a call. You should model. I know several people who would love to have someone like you in their summer issues…." He went on about how photogenic she was, how she had that innocent look but deep in her eyes the fire of a wild girl that thrived to some daybreak out of her shell…. She didn't have to take the offer—but she did. She wanted to use the money to buy herself the beautiful magnolia sundress she saw the day before at the shopping center nearby. And buy the sundress she did; she happened to be wearing it coming back home.

So two weeks were spent at the beach posing for Summer Magazine, Beach Posh, and Teen Wear Magazine summer catalogues and the more she posed for Kensuke's camera, the higher in demand came for her photos.

"It's your pretty face, Mailah-san, not the photograph." Mailah Statini. Meimi never gave him her real name until she left. In the beginning, he and all the other modeling agencies that took her name knew her by that alias and never questioned about her real name or where she lived. All she ever told them was, "I'm quarter Italian on my mother's side but I've lived here all my life." The only truth she told them was that she was vacationing and had a week left. So they took advantage of her being there and photographed her as much as possible, saving some photographs for future covers. As for Meimi, she did it so she could earn some money on her vacation—she was able to not only buy the sundress she wanted but she also bought several gifts for her parents and friends at St. Paulia's.

In the car, Meimi opened her tote bag and pulled out the latest copy of Summer Magazine that Kensuke gave her before she left. A picture of her wearing a peach bikini top and a miniskirt donned the cover. She was sitting on the rocks and looking forward, facial expression a mix of "come play with me" and "don't fool around, I'm dangerous." She wasn't smiling in the cover. In fact, she thought, I didn't have many photos of me smiling. She shoved the magazine back in her bag. I need to move on. I can't tell anyone here what I've been doing—they'll think I'm that party-girl they see on that cover. Ugh, how did I ever decide to do this in the first place? Keeping the modeling matter a secret from her parents was especially important. She knew her parents would never approve. And she loved her parents—she would never want to do anything that might affect how people look at them. Well, too late for that, she scolded herself. What's done is done. Just keep to the plan and deny. Say you were at your other grandparents' house up in the mountains. Say you got the tan from hiking and helping with the chores around the house. Say you got some double or look-alike. Yes. That's it. She gave herself a firm and determined nod and realized they were already pulling up their driveway.

"We're home!"

* * *

AN: her name...it's just saint tail and her initials MH mixed around...and i added a few vowels here and there so it actually sounded conceivably like a name. meh. totally random. 

comments? violent reactions? constructive criticism would be cool.


	2. Chapter 2

"So, Nishida-san, did you see the latest pictures at Gloss: Summer Babes? Statini-san's pictures sure are hot." A group of St. Paulia students were seated at a bench near the park fountain. While the other boys punched and bragged about their summer trips, Asuka Jr. stretched out on the grass beside them and listened. He had stayed home in hopes that Saint Tail would show up during the summer—she didn't. Disappointed and after a whole lot of bored sighs, he found himself working the treadmill at the nearest gym. He figured if he couldn't catch St. Tail now, and she wasn't anywhere to be seen, he might as burn whatever fat had hindered his previous thief-catching failures. Now, as he sat and listened to them talk about skin, skin, and skin, he felt himself dozing off.

"Yeah—take a look at those legs. You know, though, I can't help but notice that she sort of reminds me of Haneoka-san… except that her hair is curly and she's got this 'bad girl' image."

"Haha, that's right. I can't imagine Haneoka-san as a wild child. Although, she can explode if you give her enough steam, right Asuka-san?" They all laughed. Asuka Jr. on the other hand had already grabbed the magazine from his friend's hand and looked at the cover photograph. A picture of the model Statini showed her bending over and picking up her hat that had fallen on the sand. The shorts she wore were extremely short and her half-top functioned more to show than to cover.

_Woah_, Asuka Jr.'s eyes widened. She looks like a hotter version of Haneoka. He scrutinized the photo even more and looked at her hair. It's curly— and this girl's got curves. Definitely not Haneoka. Haneoka's a stick compared to this… college girl.

"Oi, Asuka Jr.! You can keep that if you want—we know that's the closest—and the most—you can get to Haneoka-san anyway!" The group laughed. So much for friends, Asuka Jr. frowned. He got up, tossed the magazine back at them. "I'm going to leave you with your fantasies—see you guys later." He shoved his hands in his pockets and started towards the exit of the park.

"Hey, don't forget—this Friday—we're going to Tanaka-san's up at the mountains. She's invited our whole class to a get-together before school starts."

"Yeah, sure. See you Friday then." Asuka Jr. waved his hand and headed to the center of town.

o---------o---------o

Midday—the heat was sweltering and perspiration evaporated the moment it touched the air. Meimi sat in a corner of a café where the air condition was on full blast. By the window she could see the people pass by, fan themselves with their palms, eat their ice creams, and pull their companions along to the next cool shopping center. The cicadas are loud… She could hear them clearly when a customer opened the door to enter or exit.

"Siera's late," she thought. The ice cubes in her drink were half melted and she sighed as she looked out the window once more, hoping to spot her friend. While Meimi was on vacation, Siera occupied her summer in a health facility, helping out in keeping the resident patients entertained and happy. Now that the holidays were coming to a close, Siera finished her last day of service and agreed to meet up with Meimi for lunch. Just as she looked out, Siera came into view in front of the café door and entered. Meimi smiled and waved her over, stood up to give her a hug and they both sat down.

"I bought you something," Meimi pulled a small seashell box from her bag and gave it to her best friend. "I bought the box from a shop near the beach but," she pointed to the one small shell on the top, "I found this one and glued it on just so it has one of my personalized touch on it."

"Thank you, Meimi-chan. So, how did your visit with your grandmother's go?" Meimi told her story and Siera patiently listened. "Well," she said when Meimi was finally done, "you've got your work cut out for you. You're a high school student in the daytime, you're a thief at night, and a beach model during summers?" Siera laughed. "It's a wonder how you were able to respond to 'Statini' when someone called you. How did you ever come up with that name, anyway?"

"Ugh, I don't know. And it was hard enough to remember that your name was something other than Meimi or St. Tail," Meimi whispered the last name. "Anyway, it's done, they don't know where I live or what my real name is so I guess it's alright if I just forget about this whole model issue and focus on more important things in life."

Siera's head went up. "Which reminds me, the whole time you were having photo fun, did you get to do your math work you brought with you so you could catch up on your problem solving and trigonometry?"

The shocked look on Meimi's face said it all. "Oh no," she cried and Siera shook her head in mock defeat. "Sister is going to kill me—well, maybe not kill me—but I'm sure she'll find some evil after school detention tutoring for me to attend to for the remainder of my school life here in St. Paulia!"

Siera's face looked sympathetic. "Well, you could get Asuka Jr. to help you do it…"

"What? No way! I'm not going to stoop low in front of him and beg for help in math just to have him laugh in my face and make fun of my calculating abilities. I'll ask my dad to help me." She grabbed her drink in controlled annoyance and took a deep sip with the straw.

Siera sighed. "What do you think your parents will say when they find out you've left your summer work until the last minute? I don't think you'd like to explain what you were doing the whole two weeks you were gone."

"Argh! You're right…as always. I give up. Fine, I'll ask him."

Siera smiled. "You can do it when you go to Tanaka Aika-san's family resort. That way, not only have you ruined your last few days of no school by doing your 'last-minute homework' but dragging Asuka Jr. down the road of misery with you—wouldn't that make you feel better?"

"Siera, did the old people you spent time with rubbed their senile attitude on you or did I hear you suggest something quirky and devilish for me to do?"

"I think it can be a good lesson for you to learn—don't do things at the last moment. Have fun on the trip; see you at school."

* * *

comments? violent reactions? constructive criticism would be cool. 


	3. Chapter 3

"One last trip? Dear, aren't you tired enough from the trip from your Grandmother's?" Genichiro watched his daughter pull her bag out of the car.

"I'm okay, Dad," Meimi tiptoed and kissed her father on his cheek. "It's our last days of summer—and her parents will be there—so we'll behave." She hurried towards the vans where her classmates were loading into. With one last wave to her father, Meimi shoved her bag in the back of the last van. At most, twenty people from her class took up the invitation for a trip to Tanaka's resort for free. Among them were Ryoko-chan and Kyoko-chan, Takamiya, Sawatari, and Asuka Jr.

"Haneoka-san! I knew you were coming—so I saved you a seat!" Sawatari ushered her into the van and patted the empty seat next to him. What else could Meimi do but get in and sit there. Fortunately for her, Ryoko and Kyoko were also in the same van (seated up front) so she had her close friends with her. Unfortunately, however, someone did not trust Sawatari alone with Meimi; Asuka Jr. and Takamiya-san were on the same van as well.

"Wow, Meimi-san, what did the break do to you? Something changed!" Kyoko beamed and Ryoko turned from their seat to look at their friend. "Visiting your grandma has done something good to your complexion—you look great!" Sawatari was ogling Meimi, his eyes approving what he saw. It seemed he had found his next photography project.

"Haneoka-san, let me take your picture when we get there—I can put the photos on the first newsletter of the school year. I can see it now, Haneoka's beauty and my skillful talent. It'll make front page! Of course, we'll have to do something about that outfit…" There he goes, Meimi smiled meekly. She noticed Takamiya-san rolling her eyes at Sawatari's retort and she leaned foreward.

"So, I see you found yourself on the front cover of a couple of magazines lately, Meimi-san. What was up with the name, anyway? Mailah Statini? What is that, European?" Reina's eyebrow went up, her gaze boring into Meimi's as if challenging her to say something.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about." Meimi shook her head and looked as calmly as she could.

"C'mon, Meimi-san. Beach wear, bikinis, hats, the men models…" Askuka Jr. nudged Reina's arm as if to stop her from saying anything else that could further ruin their trip. She didn't budge.

"My grandmother lives in the mountains, Takamiya-san. I helped around the house, doing chores. I got my tan from trips going up to the temple. If Miss Statini looks like me, I'd call it coincidence. Besides…I don't have curly hair—and hers does not look artificial." _Thanks to great hair dressers_, she inwardly smiled.

Sawatari cut in, "Of course you're not Mailah Statini, Haneoka-san. Takamiya-san here is just jealous that she doesn't look like a model." Reina stuck out her tongue at Sawatari. "But I do have to agree with her that you look like that girl. You've seen her pictures, right? Of course you have, or else you wouldn't know how she looks like…" he laughed whole-heartedly.

"Sure I've seen the magazines. I'd be lying if I said I didn't."

"And?" Reina prodded.

"…And I don't know her? It's not me."

"Oh, C'mon, there's no mistaking the resemblance…"

"Just leave it," Asuka Jr. cut in, frowning, and everyone turned to look at him. He had been quiet the entire trip up to now and was staring out the window at the passing trees but all the while, listening to the conversation at hand. "If she says it's not her, it's not her." His gaze flickered to Meimi and caught her eye. A tiny smirk found its way to the edge of his mouth. "Not even Meimi could look that good," he murmured more to himself but loud enough for the passengers to hear. For a second, his eyes widened but he sharply looked back out the window, contemplating.

Meimi stared back with a stunned expression. Was she to feel hurt by that comment? Wasn't she the same person anyway? Asuka Jr. just complimented and insulted her at the same time. Settling for anger, her eyebrows furrowed together and she let out a pout that would convince them she was offended. "No one asked for your opinion, Asuka Jr.!" She turned back to face the front and crossed her arms to show the conversation had ended. Silence followed the rest of the trip to the resort.

Lying about Saint Tail had been one issue that Meimi had gotten used to over the past months. That was one of those secrets that had to stay secret—for the sake of the people in need, as well as her own safety. However…lying about her summer job? Knowing that a student who attends a religious school posed in revealing clothing just for public distribution could ruin her reputation. People judge others too quickly by what they do, who they are friends with, regardless of the kind of person they really are. If her fellow classmates ever found out, they could label her as a tramp, a boy toy, a bad influence to anything innocent. Goodness knows the girl in those magazines portrays one or more of those characteristics mentioned and probably many more cheap traits for others.

But what Asuka Jr. had said though…was it true? Not even Meimi could look that good. Was Mailah good looking? Did Meimi look better dressed as a troublemaker, beachy, party-girl? Was she a boring person in real life—an uninteresting girl who wasn't good enough for guys to swoon over just as they were swooning over her model self? She had vowed never to be too conscious of how she looked, never to let anyone judge her. It kept her happy knowing that her friends enjoyed her company just because she was a good person and not because they judged her appearance. She expected nothing less from them than to accept her for the cheery person that she was. And here was Asuka Jr., he really knew how to hit it where it hurt. She felt bad enough that he brought up a subject that should be kept within the female group. Anyone would find it all right if girls talked about looks between girls or guys to guys. To have a someone from the opposite sex talk about your looks… Meimi wanted nothing more than to slap him…or to try to mellow down before she _breaks_ down. Homework, homework. Do your homework. If you get it done today, you have time to relax tomorrow.

Focused on her intent to fight procrastination once and for all, she dozed off to the hum of the a/c and the whirring of the moving van. It would be at least another hour until they got to the resort so she nodded off to a nap.

Asuka Jr. had returned his gaze at the passing trees. Ugh. What did I say? 'Not even Meimi could look that good?' No wonder we're always fighting. So much for reconciling with Haneoka. Not only did he say her first name (which, by the way, was an unconsious action that he hoped no one else noticed) but his chances to get through the new school year without the common hostility crises had just plummeted to nil.

What was it about her that irritated him so? He quickly glanced at the two occupants of the row of seats in front of him. Apparently, Haneoka was asleep or else she would have swatted Sawatari's hand before it came around her other arm. Now her head was resting on his shoulder and Sawatari looked smug even in his own sleep. I'll say this, though, he thought. I'm more irritated at Sawatari than I am at her. He snorted and looked away, disgusted at the sight. How could he take advantage of her like that and get away with it?

It seemed that Takamiya-san, too, had noticed the couple in the middle row and decided to create a scene of her own. As if he didn't mind, she grabbed Asuka Jr.'s arm, also rested her head on his shoulder, and sighed happily. Asuka Jr. was too kind to push her away so he let her have her way with him. 'I just hope she doesn't think too much of this good gesture….'

o-----------------o----------------o

Meimi dumped her bag on the bed closest to the window. When the vans had arrived at the resort, everyone had quickly grabbed their belongings, and rushed towards the front desk—eager to find their rooms and explore the facilities. Meimi shared a room with Shibata Aikka, a girl who regularly sat at the back of the room during class hours. Choosing a roommate was up to the person but since Siera wasn't there and Ryoko and Kyoko shared a room, Meimi felt like the extra wheel. Luckily for her, Aikka was roommate-less and they decided to share a room. However, Meimi had a feeling Aikka wan't going to sleep much this trip since her boyfriend, Mitsukake, was only two rooms down. I just hope they don't decide to make out in this room—I'll leave if ever that happens.

From her window, she could see some commotion going on down the pool. Further ahead past a couple of trees there was a small white painted gazebo, a perfect place for doing her homework in silence, she decided. Meimi went back to her bag to retrieve her papers and a pencil from the bottom. She locked her room when she exited and walked down to the lobby.

"Meimi-san!" Ryoko spotted Meimi walking out the back door and ran to her. "Just our luck, there are people doing a photo shoot here and have invited us to be some of the extras! They said if we go, we get free discounts on their latest wear—Isn't it great?" She kept looking back towards the glass windows to the pool, hinting on Meimi that they should go there in that direction. But what Meimi was thinking was that she didn't want to be seen by any photographers lest one of them recognized her from her previous photo engagements during the summer. She frowned uneasily.

"You go right ahead—I promised myself that I'd finish my homework," she held up her papers, "before I do anything else. It's for my own good. Call it punishment for procrastinating…. I'll catch up later." Meimi smiled apologetically and left Ryoko looking out at the camera flashes.

* * *

comments? violent reactions? constructive criticism would be cool. 


	4. Chapter 4

o----------------o----------------o

"I'll have the four seasons please." Kensuke told the short waitress standing over him. In the heat of the sun and the hours he had spent trying to get his angles just right for the photos, he wished he were still at the beach back at Okinawa. At least there, there was the water and the wind coming straight from the sea. Here in the resort, the mountains and trees slowed wind down to a weak breeze. He took the papers he was supposed to sign and hand in later and used it to fan himself. How and why in the world did my editor decide for the next shoot to be here? I feel like a baked potato…only not as starchy. Just thirsty… "And I'll also take a raspberry sorbet afterwards. Thanks." The petite woman scribbled his order down on her little pad and nodded. When she left, Kensuke leaned back on his lounge chair, adjusting his sunglasses, and he looked around at the set.

The two female models chosen for the shoot sat at their chairs cooling themselves off with their electric fans. Both of them were professionals-proper in their posture and poise. Snooty, snobby, little heiresses-wannabes. They did nothing but complain since they stepped out of the Benz. If ever, the shoot would have been a bust if it were not for the sudden appearance of a group of vacationing teenagers. He could've prayed for rain and believed it would come. These kids would do anything just to get into a magazine photo for free. Kensuke smiled in relief. At least some of them aren't have half-bad looking. Like that guy over there… He spotted a couple, boy and girl talking to each other. Actually, it was more like the girl was doing the talking. The boy was just listening. There was something about the look of that teenager—undershirt with a short-sleeved polo over, khaki shorts and sneakers. Pretty plain outfit but the arms and legs it covered told a story. "He'd look good in the green shirt," he said, mostly to himself and grinned as he began planning on a way to ask the young man if he could pose for just one little photo. He sat up on his chair and turned to call his assistant. "Matsuki!"

o----------------o----------------o

"Well, can you? Please?" Ryoko looked up at Asuka Jr. with her best looking 'pleading' face. Her hands were clasped together as she asked for the favor and her lip showed a slight pout. He looked up at the sky and sighed. _Oh, boy_.

"Ryoko-san, why me? Couldn't you have asked Sawatari to help instead? I mean, it's not like we even get along for starters." He shoved his hands into the pockets of his shorts and attempted a scolding facial expression. Ryoko wasn't fazed. Contrary to what everyone else believed, he and Ryoko actually got along quite nicely, in spite of the fact she was one of Meimi Haneoka's closest friends. The two of them were friends since childhood and although it seemed that they grew apart, at times they usually revert back to that sibling-like relationship, which was fine for the both of them. Their parents knew each other, and they spent a great seven years pulling on each other's hair, fighting over the tv remote and kicking each other's sand castles. They drifted apart as best friends when they attended St. Paulia but the friendship remained and at times, she could sense things about him that he didn't want anyone else to know about.

"Because—because you're smarter than he is, you'll get the job done quicker, I know it! She told me she would come help out with the photo shoot after she's done with her homework; and you know how slow she is with that. She'll never get it done by tonight if she did it by herself. Please, Daiki-chan?" He hated when she called him that but he didn't show he was bothered.

"With me, it'll look like some charity-case. I would never help out willingly and she knows it."

"C'mon, we're all friends here, despite our differences. Just offer her your help—make something up like, 'I saw you holding math homework and have come to help', or 'gee, just passing by and, oh, I see you're doing some calculus—did you know calculus is my favorite subject?' or something like that. I'm sure she won't turn you down." Ryoko's eyebrow went up and she suddenly smiled slyly. "Besides, I don't mean to be observant or anything, but were those jealous stares I saw through the rearview mirror on the way here? You know, when Sawatari-kun had his arms around her—you wouldn't want Meimi-chan to find out about that, now, would you?"

Asuka Jr. leered at Ryoko. "Are you blackmailing me?"

"What if I am?" She sniffed, her nose turned upwards as if challenging him. His arms flung upwards in defeat.

"Fine, fine," he groaned and he leaned foreward so he could look Ryoko in the eye. "But you owe me one. I don't want any false rumor going around about what happened or I'm telling my friends about that time you got yourself lost in a temple," she sneered and stuck out her tongue, "and don't mention any of this to Takamiya-san. Promise?" Ryoko smiled and vigorously nodded.

"Promise!" And with that, Asuka Jr. lightly flicked her nose and walked in the direction away from the resort and towards the woods smiling, leaving Ryoko grasping her nose with her hand. "Itai! Asuka Jr., you'll pay for this!" He just waved his hand and continued walking.

o----------------o----------------o

It wasn't long until he found her. The gazebo was well away from the noise of the pool area but near enough that he didn't have to walk far into the woods just to get there. And there she was, sitting, head resting on her arm—obviously lost in the moment—and her other hand twirled her pencil. She looked bored, on the brink of giving up and returning to where her friends were but she didn't get up and Asuka Jr. assumed that she was trying to get her work done. At least she's got determination, he thought as he continued observing her from the stone pathway. The incident on the way to the resort resurfaced and he began pondering about that model he saw on his friends magazine.

Reina Takamiya wasn't too stupid in her assumption that Meimi and that Italian-Japanese girl were the same. When he came to think about it, there were times before that he had thought Meimi was St. Tail, but those were always brushed off as him being overly presumptuous. When Takamiya made that same observation, he mentally reopened his self-debate; but the only reason he rejected Takamiya's hypothesis was because he wanted that privilege of finding that out for himself. Now that he looked at Haneoka face to face, he could see obvious resemblances in her and the model's faces— but Haneoka's dress preferences seem to tell him otherwise.

Ever since she came back from her grandmothers, he'd seen her in nothing more than a excessively large tee shirt, shorts, and sneakers. Must be her father's clothes. From that, he could imagine that underneath she really was stick-figured and was hiding it from everyone else. But regardless of what she looked like, there was always something about Meimi Haneoka that intrigued him. Maybe it was her disposition, because no one else seemed to hit him in the nerve as well as she did. Of all the rantings and arguing they displayed in and out of school hours, they both were able to get in these verbal spats at least twice a week and in a way, he almost looked foreward to them. I mean, when else could he win a fight against a girl, he groaned inwardly. She didn't keep anything that bothered her inside herself; she let her inhibitions go.

Yes, Haneoka Meimi positively intrigued him.

As he finished his mental rantings, he realised that he stood right at the bottom step of the gazebo and the girl in front of him was leering at him. "What do you want?"

"Nothing—just taking a walk. What're you doing?" He stepped up to get a better look. "Is that your summer homework?"

Meimi blushed, grabbed the paper in front of her and attempted to cover it up with her arms. "No, it's not! Besides, why should you care? You're always giving me a hard time; go away and leave me alone." Asuka Jr. snatched the paper from under her before she could protest, looked at the half finished paper and shook his head.

"Eh, weren't you supposed to have done this by now? School's next week. Look, you're only half way through and half of what you did are wrong." If there was ever a time Meimi felt humiliated, this just made its way up to number one and she turned a shade redder. Why was he here? "Tsk tsk," he continued. "How long have you been on this, anyway?" He gestured to the problems on the paper. "This isn't right. You added two different variables…. How did you imagine the answer would be if you cancelled these two coefficients here? Jeez; here, give me that pencil. Man, if the Wizard of Oz had any of his spare organs left…."

Meimi covered her ears and cried, "don't say it! The last thing I need is a pompous jerk breathing insults down my neck when he himself can't even catch a stupid thief. St. Tail…!" BAM! Meimi jumped. Asuka Jr.'s hand had slammed down on the table and when Meimi cracked one eye open, she was surprised to see him suddenly fuming.

"Don't you ever call her stupid. You don't know the half of it—what I do is my business and no one else's. I won't have you or Takamiya sticking your noses into something you don't understand!"

"_Understand_? Asuka Jr., you don't _understand_ how hard this is for me! I don't get math—it's a foreign language—don't reprimand me just because you can add numbers and find derivatives with ease. So why don't _you_ stop sticking your nose where it doesn't belong!"

"Well, excuse me for trying to help in the first place."

"You call this helping?"

He flung her homework at her and she gave him an angry glare. "Fine. I'm probably giving you a hard time as well just by standing here. Have fun with your homework."

Walking away from the gazebo, Asuka Jr. mentally slapped himself for being so cruel to her. But his actions always came naturally. In acting indifferent or even rude towards her, he masked what he felt would be his real feelings for the girl sitting in front of him. That had to be the worst fight he and Meimi had ever had. Walking back the way he came, he hoped the guilty feeling would pass by the time he reached the pool area. But when he looked back a final time, he saw her head looking down at her paper, arms at her sides and her shoulders slumped in defeat. _Shit. What've I done_?

* * *

comments? confusion? violent reactions? constructive criticism would be cool. 


	5. Chapter 5

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By the time Asuka Jr. left, the numbers on the paper in front of her looked like a jumble of criss-crosses she could never be able to comprehend. In the one hour she spent hopeful she could get her math homework finished without anyone's help, Asuka Jr. was able to break that hope in one minute. Half the answers are wrong? What am I doing wrong? Argh! She angrily crumpled the papers into a tight ball and threw it across the table. I don't get this at all! She could feel tears welling at the edges of her eyes. Her insides felt worse that they ever had that day and it got even worse as she thought about what he said to her just moments ago. He doesn't care. What a spiteful person! She got madder by the second, her hands clenched into fists on her lap. What a jerk—a lying, cheap, supposed know-it-all coward, a sneaky, slimy, heartless—

"Listen, Haneoka," her head jerked up and her angry, tearing face met his guilt-ridden one. "I could help you with your homework, if you want— "

"No thanks."

"Hey, look, I'm sorry, okay? I was out of line. I don't know what came over me. Maybe when you provoked me I lost it…" The expression on her face was incomprehensible.

"Provoked you? Me?" Meimi's voice level was rising and Asuka Jr. braced himself for her coming words. "Provoked?" She repeated. "Let me tell you something, Asuka Jr. You are a rude and obnoxious prat and I hope the female population is saved from men like you. You say you're trying to help but when it comes to treating a person right, you fail at that. I may be bad at math, but at least I know how to be a proper friend, unlike you. I know that if there's nothing good that's going to come out of my mouth, I keep my mouth shut! In fact, many other people know how to do just that. Many others—except you! Now, leave me alone!" She flung her pencil at him and he ducked, his arms flying up to protect himself.

"What the—!"

"And don't ever talk to me again!" She got up and ran down the gazebo steps and back towards the resort, the tears now falling freely from her eyes and down her cheeks.

Asuka Jr. stood there, stunned and surprised at what had just happened. He could only stare at her back as she disappeared between the trees. It was only a minute later did he snap back to the present and realise—as he looked down on the table—that Meimi hadn't taken her homework with her. Slowly, he picked the crumpled pieces of paper from the floor, opened them up, properly folded and slipped them in his shirt pocket. Finally, with a sigh, he himself headed back towards the resort.

o----------------O----------------o

Ryoko was sipping her pineapple shake by the bar when she saw a blur of red hair dash in from the side entrance. Immediately, she choked, put her drink down on the table and turned to call out to her friend. "Meimi-san!" But Meimi didn't seem to hear her. What she did do was run passed curious passer-byers, and off to the stairs going up to the rooms. From that, Ryoko now seemed concerned. It wasn't that she worried when Meimi ignored her and ran off—it was that Ryoko notice her grief-stricken face and puffiness of her eyes told her something went wrong when Asuka Jr. met up with her.

Slapping some money on the table, Ryoko headed out the opposite direction Meimi was headed and mumbled to herself, "ooh, when I find him, I'm going to kill him!"

o----------------O----------------o

Meimi didn't know which was worse: having Asuka Jr. insult her intelligence, or running into the last person you want to be seen with in a resort full of your friends and classmates. Meimi reached her floor, her misery having been replaced by pure resentment towards Asuka Jr. (and all the male population), she rounded the corner and ran straight into a person's chest falling backwards and landing painfully on her bottom.

"Owwww…" she rubbed her backside as the person she had bumped into tried to help her up. She felt two strong hands lift her by her arms to help her stand.

"Sorry, Sweets. You really should look where you're going…" Meimi froze. She knew that voice; somehow, she remembered hearing it recently within the past month.

Meimi didn't hesitate. Neither did she look up to verify her suspicions. She grabbed the man by the fronts of his shirt and dragged him to her room while he protested in short bursts of "hey!" and "wha-." When the door was shut and locked, she turned to him, who was looking unusually confused but nontheless the same. It was a split second later he realized who had bumped into him. "Mailah-san!" He was shocked. He had to blink twice, probably to see if he was seeing straight. The girl who stood before him did look like the model he had worked with only she looked like a puffy-eyed wreck. That, and she sported the ugliest "Welcome to Maui" t-shirt that Mailah would never get caught wearing. Maybe it wasn't her… "Oh, pardon me, Miss. I thought you were someone I knew. Hey, sorry I bumped into you out there—but really, I think it was you who was running, not me, so…"

"Ken, will you shut up for a moment," Meimi cried, throwing her arms around his neck and grasping him into a tight hug.

_Yup, it's her, alright_. She smelled of sun and peaches and cherries: the peach smell came from a body spray—a going-away present he had personally given Mailah the day before she left for Kyoto. The cherries, he remembered, was from the lotion she always used. Right then he held her, remembering the best week he had ever had as a photographer, and as her friend. Kensuke didn't know what made his favorite covergirl cry, but he was ready to pound a face or two any time she'd tell him her story. He returned her anxious hug and rocked her as he allowed her to cry her tears out. When her crying subsided to quiet hiccups, he loosened his grasp on her and held her chin up so she would look up at him.

"God, how I feel good when I look at you," he smiled at her and Meimi's lips curled up in between her erratic breathing. "You know, you always seem to come around when I need help the most. Here I am one moment haggled by two snobby, skinny models, demanding everything from me and the crew—I swear, they think we're their servants—and I'm just about to give up and call my editor and then you show up. I must be doing something right to deserve this." Kensuke gave her shoulders a squeeze but she could see that he was retaining his composure lest he break down and dance for joy right there on the spot. "But first," he steered Meimi towards the bed and sat her down. Then he went back to the door and locked it, turned back and sat across her on the other bed. "Okay. I'm hiring a goon. Just tell me who, where, and when this will go down. No one makes the famous Statini go puffy-eyed in front of the camera and gets away with it. If I have to, I'll visit his home, replace all his trousers with 1960's bellbottoms and refurnish his room with pink rabbits, polka dot tulips and"—he shuddered—"velcro. Lots of it." When he snuck a peak at Meimi (whose head was down with her hair covering her face), he felt better when he saw her shoulders relax and her hand come up to suppress her laughter. "That's the girl I know! "

She looked up and raised an eyebrow. "Velcro?"

Kensuke just shrugged. "So, what's up?"

Meimi told him. After her story, he smiled.

* * *

comments? violent reactions? constructive criticism would be cool. 


	6. Chapter 6

* * *

"Asuka Jr. you idiot!" Ryoko's lips moved twice its regular speed and words came out angry and hissing but two minutes into her scolding, the sound was tuned to a monotonous hum in his ears. He'd heard the same lecture twice that day already—once from Meimi and the second from himself; hearing it a third time didn't help ease his guilt either. "…and of all the responses you could have given her…" she went on.

Truth be told, he wasn't even planning to tell Ryoko what had happened with Haneoka. As he could see at his present position, Ryoko was perhaps overprotective with her friends and, in Asuka Jr.'s eyes, a little overdramatic. He just stared at her head and suddenly associated it with a time bomb five seconds to detonation. Tick tock, tick tock. He would have laughed at the analogy were it not for the seriousness of the situation and her distant voice getting louder and louder, pulling him back to the present. "…asked for much? How hard is it for you to walk up to a person and offer help? 'Can I help you?' or maybe even two words 'need help?' Oy, Asuka Jr.! Where, how, and why did the insults of 'your math sucks—'"

"Hey, I didn't tell her, 'your math sucks' okay? I told her half her answers were wrong…" He was really getting annoyed now.

"Alright, you didn't say that, but didn't you just tell me you called her clueless? What was that again about the Wizard of Oz?"

"You know, with your arms at your hips, and your posture like that, you remind me of my mother…"

"Asuka Daiki!" And he threw his hands up.

"Okay, okay! Sorry! Fine, I admit, I did probably say some bad things to her—" Ryoko glared. "—okay, definitely said some bad things to her."

Ryoko nodded. "Just as I thought."

He shoved his hands in his pocket and kicked a lone pebble on the pavement of the parking lot. It was three hours before Ryoko was able to find and assault him with what had happened at the gazebo and before he planned to tell her anything, he had to make sure where they spoke would be far from the vicinity of his prying classmates; so they went out to the front of the resort. But, man, can that girl bite hard. She had let him speak first, and not once did she interrupt him—he thought that after he had finished she'd forgive him just as easily. No—the moment he had finished his story Ryoko had her arms crossed and an unreadable expression on her face. "Done?" was what she asked and when he nodded that was the time she raved. And she gave him a whole piece of her mind. He felt horrible the entire time; like a guilty puppy who had done its business on the livingroom carpet—okay, maybe that was a little far beyond subject and he would never take a leak on someone's household furniture or sorts—but nonetheless he stood there unable to say anything. He listened until Ryoko had finished talking and until he finally understood what he had to do. He had to apologise to Haneoka. She had rejected his apology the first time but now, he told himself, he'd be prepared not to take 'no' for an answer.

"I had to see her running by me, crying—do you know what mess I'll be in if she finds out I put you up to this? Asuka Jr.? Daiki-chan, are you even listening? I swear you are the most dense guy I know…" Ryoko didn't continue further as Asuka Jr grabbed her by the shoulders and gave her a quick hug.

"Thanks, Ryoko-san and sorry again. I'll be back—I'm gonna go look for her again. Excuse me…" The words died out as they both noticed a taxi pull up to the resort and the camera crew from inside the resort came piling out from the double doors. They beat the doorman to the taxi cab and opened the door, shouting, "Statini-san! Statini-san!" _Statini-san?_ Asuka Jr. released his hold on Ryoko and the both of them watched as a young woman stepped out of the vehicle. She was clad in pink tank top and flowy cotton skirt; her sunglasses and large hat helped hide her face from public view but there was no mistaking the curly red hair.

"Oh, my gosh, is that who I think it is?" Ryoko's eyes beamed in anticipation. "Ooh, Meimi-san should see this—I swear you'd think they'd be seeing double…Look! There's Meimi!" She pointed past the frenzy of the crowd to where Meimi Haneoka was walking. "Odd," Ryoko said. "It looks like she's going…" Then she gasped and broke into a run. "Meimi-san!" Asuka Jr. followed closely behind.

o----------------O----------------o

Meimi had just thrown in her bag into the taxi cab and given her instructions to the driver when Ryoko and Asuka Jr. (both out of breath) reached her. She pulled on the baseball cap she was wearing so it covered more of her eyes but she couldn't deny that her friends had seen her. She had prepared for a moment like this were it to happen and now her friend stood beside her, heaving and looking utterly worried, and Asuka Jr. looking almost as if he'd demand for an explanation from her immediately.

"Meimi-san, what's going on?" As if Ryoko couldn't see, Meimi thought, but she remembered that it was Asuka Jr. who she was mad at.

"I'm leaving. I forgot, I had to do something."

"And what would that be?" Asuka Jr. moved in front of Ryoko, making her step back suddenly. "I said I was sorry. I was even going to look for you so I could apologise again." He looked at Ryoko and remembered the hurt that his actions had caused her friend. If he didn't couldn't get Haneoka to stay, she would be on his case for a _very _long time. Also, he thought, somewhere inside of him, he didn't want Meimi to leave either.

Meimi forced a smile. "Just some—project I promised I'd help Siera with. What was that…old folks home, I think. Yes. The senior community volunteer program for church. I still have to complete seven more hours, so I gotta get back as soon as possible, you know…" Her smile was weak and she knew it. Apparently, so did Asuka Jr. and Ryoko. But they weren't about to call Meimi Haneoka a liar. Not after what she'd been through.

"C'mon, Meimi-san, you just got here, stay for at least one more night, and then go back tomorrow! We'll make the most of that time here together! We'll go swimming—did you see Mailah Statini pass by us just now? We have to meet her face to face—_and_ I hear they're serving triple-death choco-chocolate cake for dessert later—"

Almost. She almost gave in. If it weren't for her plans, she would've marched back into the resort, straight to the restaurant venue and demanded for two cake slices because God knows how much she loves cake. But she shook her head in determination. "No, I'm going to have to pass on that, Ryoko. I really need to get back. Just have fun for me, alright?" She gave her friend a hug, quickly glancing at Asuka Jr. (who was looking right back at her—almost apologetic, Meimi thought) and quickly got into the taxi, leaving no room for anyone to protest.

"Alright, I'm ready." She told the driver and he nodded, bringing the taxi around to the main road. I sure hope this'll be worth it.

o----------------O----------------o

"Well? How'd it go?" Kensuke looked up from the paper he held and at the two curly-haired women in front of him. They both smiled.

The woman holding a large white hat smirked at him. "I don't know where you get your crazy ideas from, Ken, but when you want something this desperate, I guess only you can think something as eccentric as this up." Then, turning to Meimi, she gave a hug. "Mailah—It's good to see you again."

Meimi laughed and returned the hug. "Yuki-san, take that dreadful mop off your head. And Ken, I can't believe you think my hair is that color—it's unspeakably ugly!—and where in the world did you get two wigs at the last minute?" Yuki peeled the red wig from her head and propped it on a mannequin's head resting on the table next to the vanity mirror. Next to that was another mannequin head with straight red hair—the one Meimi had worn. Underneath, Yuki's straight mahogany-colored hair fell over her shoulders and she ran her fingers through them to loosen the strands from its previous confinement. "Ugh. I need a shower," she muttered.

Kensuke sat back and smiled, proud of his accomplishment. Before he could explain, Yuki took the liberty of telling Meimi what had happened. "When Ken called me, I was on my way here but hadn't left the city yet. Lucky enough, the first salon I walked into even sported wigs at their display case and all I asked for was two strawberry-red wigs, one straight, the other curly. Ah, life's just convienient when low people recognize you." She fanned herself with her hand, and acted as if she were the modelling industry's savior.

"Don't get cocky; this is just the beginning." Meimi smiled at the both of them as they crossed their arms and looked smugly back at her.

* * *

A/N: Boo. Time is drawing near...til I'll be internet-less. I'll try to make the most of it. Soon I'll be out of the country visiting my dad; and most likely fighting over the computer with my sisters. Booooo. Not fun. And then, when I return, it's back to school for me! Wah! No time to do what I wanna do (draw and surf) nyahaha In the mean time, I want to go to the doctor because this headache is really annoying me; it's like I'm gonna get an anyurism or something. Boo more. anyway...

comments? violent reactions? constructive criticism would be cool.


	7. Chapter 7

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"Okay, give me one more like that. There you go, that's great! And we're done." As the sun set behind the mountainside, a crowd of St. Paulia students had gathered behind the camera crew and watched in interest as Ken snapped photos of the two models in front of him. The bright lights provided by the agency lit the pool area nicely and it seemed (from comparison to the previous shoot earlier that afternoon) that this evening's photo shoot was way better. A pretty young brunette dressed in a two piece sat on a patio chair holding a cocktail drink on one hand while her other arm lay on the arm rest. But more of the attention the students were giving were to the other model who stood behind the chair, leaning over the other girl to look at the camera. Several people whispered to each other and a few nodded in appreciation at their beauty. The girl with the slim body (covered with a deep purple swimsuit) and curly red hair did not once smile at the camera and when the photo shoot was over, she pulled the sarong around her waist and walked over to where Ken was. She whispered something to him, he nodded, and she waved, heading towards the bar.

"Wow," Kyoko told Ryoko. "I never knew she and Meimi would be totally different in terms of personality. I think the only thing in common with the both of them is their face and hair color. I wish I had her body, though…."

Ryoko nodded solemnly. "Yeah. Also, talk about stoic facial expressions. I kinda feel a little intimidated already." They walked away from the set together hoping in their minds that their red-head friend was doing all right.

Nearby, Three other people looked onwards at the retreating model and they contemplated to themselves. Takamiya crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. "I wonder…"

Sawatari Manato's eyes beamed in excitement as he watched the photographer tinker away on his camera. The equipment, the wires, the lights, the reflectors, the models— everything tickled his insides. He decided then and there that he would find a way to speak to the photographer and ask for his techniques, tips, and maybe a job. _The guy's a genius…well, after me._

Asuka Jr., on the other hand, had turned to leave the moment the shoot was finished. He wasn't going to waste his time on some model he didn't know—regardless of whether or not she looked like Haneoka_. I have more important things to do,_ he told himself and headed back to his room. _Although_, an afterthought rose in his mind, _she really did look as good as in the magazine._ _I think I'll get her autograph later and show it to Meimi._

o----------------O----------------o

Five in the morning, Meimi sat on the floor of the empty conference room, legs spread in a 'v' position and she bent foreward to stretch and reached her toes with her hands. She had recently taken up the habit of dancing in the morning to get her in shape for any strenuous hour-long chores and it stayed with her even after she returned from her summer trip. For the task of moving like a dancer, it came naturally to her—what, with her being a gymnist and all—but the style of the movement, she had gotten from her model friend Yuki who was, herself, a dancer before a model. When Yuki found Meimi's ability to be limber, she had asked whether she danced. 'No,' was Meimi's answer and Yuki, being the dancing enthusiast that she is, proceeded to tell her stories of her ballroom dancing experience and proposed to teach Meimi some interpretive dance moves. It didn't take very long for her to catch on and in the end, Meimi had caught the dance fever, integrated it with her exercise routine and continued honing her dancing skills the mornings after.

Today was no exception. Even if her friends were supposedly asleep several floors upstairs, she told herself that no one from St. Paulia knew Meimi Haneoka danced. If they ever found her in that room, twirling and moving with pop culture music, they wouldn't think much of it. For now—to her—this was just another day in her life where she would not have anyone ruin her morning routine because a classmate did the same thing that model did. That wasn't the case. To them, she and Meimi were two different people and she intended to try to keep it that way.

When she felt she was warmed up enough, she made sure her hair was tucked underneath a navy blue cap and reached over to press the play button on the CD player she had brought down with her. Once the mellow sound of piano and violins began playing coupled with the mesmerizing voice of Hikida Kaori, Meimi's body began to move in flow with the music. The words echoed softly against the walls of the conference room as she danced, and she could almost feel the pain of the music enter her psyche and exit through her movements. She could feel tears surfacing the corners of her eyes—sympathetic towards the two people in the song who longed to be together. She twirled in graceful circles, her arms and head thrown back and out and kept her eyes closed when the song ended; she pulled her hands to her chest in a pleading position and knelt down to crouching level.

Meimi took a deep breath and stopped the player. When she looked up, however, she found that she was not alone after all. Three male St. Paulia students stood inside the room, right in front of the entrance and stared at her, either in awe or with a look that said, 'um, we were just passing by….' Either way, Meimi shook her head and smiled. The boys were Asuka's friends: Nishida-kun, Chiba-kun, and Yasuhiro-kun. Statini wouldn't be embarassed to be spotted working out, Meimi told herself. Time to get to work. She threw her towel around her shoulders and picked up the CD player with the other hand and turned towards the three. "Boys, mind joining me for breakfast in an hour?" She gave them a subtle smile, careful not to over express herself as Meimi Haneoka would do. One of the boys' faces lit up.

"Really? Y-you're inviting us to…to breakfast? With you? In an hour?" Chiba's stuttering caused Nishida to elbow him on his side.

"Sure. Just let me take a shower," she said to them, "and I'll meet you boys at the dining area in a few." She winked at Chiba who was, at that point, looked like he would get a heart attack.

"I think I'll die happy now," he sighed. Yasuhiro slapped the back of his friend's head.

o----------------O----------------o

He didn't know how Meimi did it, but she did. Perhaps it was her looks; perhaps, her charm. Either way, by the end of breakfast with her classmates, six of them had followed her out to the tennis courts and waited on her like love-sick puppies ready to do their master's bidding. Ken was expecting her to have asked only one or two of her classmates to help her out as model extras. Instead, she brought six—more than enough. Glancing at each of them, however, he found that none of them were model material. _Where the heck was this Asuka guy she was talking about_? _I thought she'd have asked him to join as well…. I wonder if that good looking guy I saw yesterday at the pool area would mind if he posed as an extra_…. At that moment, Meimi-the-model was introducing the six males to the wardrobe assistant, who was more than happy to dress the boys in designer clothes. She shoved piece after piece of clothing at each of them, and shooed them into the shower rooms to get ready, giggling and cooing along.

Apparently, the wardrobe assistant's time with yesterday morning's models didn't go too well. Ken vaguely recalled the assistant being pushed around and told to carry the bags up to the room. She carried a gloomy disposition the entire time—at least until the famous (and humble) Mailah Statini stepped into the picture. Now she was a picture of pure delight—running back and forth from wardrobe making the boys try on polos, one after another. Meimi had helped her pick out the clothes and they shared laughs when the boys came out looking all wrong. "Mah, it doesn't match his eyes. Here try this," and Meimi took a hat off the rack and placed it on Chiba's head. As she and the assistant went over the boys' outfits, he turned back to his camera. The backdrop was just outside the court area, veering left off the main path. There, a picnic setup was prepared, blanket laid out and utensils and food arranged along the red and white checkered cloth.

"Three minutes, Guys," he called to the crew and models. "Mailah, c'mere for a second, would you?" Meimi tossed the pair of sunglasses at the assistant and walked over to where Ken busied himself with lighting. When she reached him, he didn't look up from his task. "So, Sweets, this wasn't part of my plan, was it? Weren't we supposed to show you off and make this Asuka guy not underestimate you? I don't see how any of this is going to get him to come."

Meimi sighed. "He won't come. Not yet, anyway. But that's not what we're working on right now. I'm thinking of another person. If I'm correct—or if he's predictable—then having his classmates and not him contribute something for the photo shoot will draw him here very, very soon. I can sense the vanity eminating from him right now…."

"Miss Statini! It's such an honor to meet you at last! I'm Sawatari Manato, same year as those buffoons you've decided to place in the photos, and let me tell you, I've always wanted to be a photographer my whole life. See, I bring my camera along with me everywhere I go; we're never separated. I want to say that I'm a big fan of yours, and would love to know the name of the photographer that shot your centerfold at _LemonAde_ and the backdrop of oranges was genius! I only take pictures for my portfolio and for the school newsletter and they turn up now and then in the local newspaper—photos of the illustrious, hard-to-catch, (and hard to picture, I might also add!) Saint Tail. Seriously, it wasn't her entire face, but I was the only junior photographer to be able to catch a glimps and picture even a piece of Saint Tail. See, I was wondering, whether I could maybe follow your photographer here and check out how he works so that maybe I could get an insight on a different kind of genre of photography. I've done landscapes, portraits, actions, stills…" Sawatari went on and on talking as if reciting his long listed resume, and Ken shifted his eyes at Meimi with an, 'is this guy for real?' look on his face. Meimi held back a giggle.

Sawatari wasn't a bad guy. Nor did Meimi not enjoy his company. In fact, from the beginning, he was probably one of the _very_ few male classmates that treated her as a good friend and she appreciated it a lot. _This is for you, Sawatari,_ Meimi thought. _I hope you take the opportunity to learn something and gain some experience in what you love to do. This is my thank you._

Meimi cut in on him. Apparently, he was still rambling. "Ne, what was your name again?"

"Sawatari Manato."

Meimi smiled softly. "All right, Sawatari-kun. How would you like to join my wonderful and talented photographer in today's shoot?" She could see his eyes widening at the thought of it. "Ken, it'll be okay with you, right—to let this young aspiring photographer give you a hand?" Ken gave Sawatari a wide grin.

"Sure! There's a light meter somewhere in that black bag over there…" As Ken began giving Sawatari something to keep his hands busy, Meimi turned her attention back to the model extras, her hands on her hips.

"Ready, Boys?"

* * *

comments? violent reactions? constructive criticism would be cool.


	8. Chapter 8&9

A/N: woot! FJOJR, it worked! ARIGATOU!!! Gah! Evil, evil! I was gonna cry for a moment there…hahah!

So…I had these two up a while back. I took them down for editing purposes...and then after I had 'supposedly' edited them, I couldn't upload any documents anymore! ( that went on for a couple days. Thanks to FJOJR, I can re-up this thing. Just to make sure; I'll put it in one whole document. XD

Don't mind the author's notes in the bottom of the two. Those were my thoughts back when I typed these up. Nyahaha.

o----------------O----------------o

Chapter 8

The shoot was, to say, a success; and entertaining. Ken was smiling the entire time he clicked the camera's button. Meimi's classmates were far from model material; they lacked experience, confidence, poise, and a certain level of magnanimous air that would help give the photo that top quality look. However, Ken had to admit, their presence did accentuate Meimi's look even more than he realized. The scene did not drown in good looks. It had an almost dream-like air to it. He had the boys around his main model, handing each other cake slices, fruits and—from the two in the background—passing each other a football, while Meimi sat on the blanket, woven hat on her head, _Pride and Prejudice_ on her lap. A small smile rested at the corners of her mouth as she looked up from her book and at the canopy above. _Snap snap snap!_ Ken continued to shoot until just before noon. He was having so much fun looking at Meimi interact with her boys that it was a rare moment that he felt he didn't need to focus on trying to find the right angle for a good photo. Everything came naturally and easily that were it not for the sun beginning to reach its peak at the top of the sky, they would have continued shooting until he really ran out of film.

Sawatari, who had long forgotten about assisting Ken, had already taken out his digital camera when he realized that everyone (including the photographer) was busy with the models to notice an 'assistant' in the middle of the set snapping away at his surroundings. He felt proud that he was able to steal some photos for himself—although he did not want to call that 'stealing'; just taking fan pictures for free.

"Alright, Ken! Everybody! Good work!" The assistant called out over the crew and immediately started to usher everyone back to the clothing racks. Meimi pulled off her hat and left it with the book on the picnic setup. Dusting herself off, she stood up and let out a loud sigh. _One session over, another in a while, _she thought passively. It was then something at the side of her vision caught her eye. She turned toward the movement but only caught a tuft of dark hair disappear among the trees. Her eyes narrowed in wonder; taking a quick glance back at the bustling set, she quietly slipped away without anyone noticing.

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Maybe it wasn't a good idea for Meimi to entertain her curiosity. Something about the mysteriousness of the person had pulled her into finding out who that person was and what he or she was up to. Counting her steps through the trees, she started to wonder, 'maybe I should have brought someone along….'

"Hey, look, it's a beautiful girl." A voice at her left startled her. She jumped at the sound and turned to the voice. Sitting against a tree were two men, both of which were dressed in a bright green and orange, unbuttoned Hawaiian tees, shorts and sandals. "Dirty perverts" described their general appearance, not just their posture, but also from the unscrupulous looks they were throwing at her. The need to turn around and run back to the resort grounds suddenly became Meimi's number one priority. She was frightened and she felt the proof prickling in the back of her neck. "Come here, and let's get to know one another," the companion said, motioning for her to come closer.

Meimi started backing away. "Um, no…It's alright. I was just…"

"It's fine," One of the men got up and stumbled towards her; his foot constantly tripping over the other and he hiccupped as he snickered. "We'll have lots of fun—have a drink with us." His crooked smile revealed two chipped teeth and added to the sweaty brow of the blemish-ridden face, Meimi's heartbeat quickened in fear.

"N-no, thanks," she shook her head quickly, the pupils of her eyes constricting. Meimi was prepared to run or fight back but before she could do either, the man hastily grasped her wrist and wrenched her toward him.

"C'mon, Missus," and the alcoholic odor of his breath jerked her stomach. She now wanted to vomit for several reasons. She could hear her heart pounding in her ears as blood rushed up to her head. His face got closer to hers and she tried to pull her hand back. The action was futile. His grasp suddenly tightened and his eyes hardened. "If you don't drink with us, I can't guarantee that you'll have fun; so drink with us…." His companion laughed behind him and chugged the last gulp of his drink. "Doesn't seem like you're too busy, anyway, right?"

"I'd beg to differ. She's with me… aren't you, Mailah-san?" A third voice cut in; and it didn't appear at all alien to Meimi. For a split moment, the grip loosened on her wrist so she took the chance and yanked back her arm. Retreating backwards, she turned away from the men and towards her savior, and hid behind the owner of that voice. Hands clenched at the shirt covering the man's back and Meimi shut her eyes tight. The two men eyed the young man meticulously searching for a chance that they might be able to get their entertainment back but seeing the muscles outlining the shirt he wore, they decided that in their condition, they might lose more than their pride. Finally, they clicked their tongue with disapproval, got up and left stumbling between the trees, leaving behind several empty cans of beer. After a while, Meimi and her mysterious stranger were left behind. "Tsk tsk," he looked down at the cans, "alcohol right before lunch…."

When he finally turned to look at the girl behind him, his face froze. Meimi stared back at him, and for seconds, they kept their gazes fixed on each other.

Just as Meimi had expected, the person she had followed was Asuka Daiki Jr. Gut feeling told her it was him from the trees. The reason for her frozen state, however, was the look he was giving her. This was not an expression of Asuka Jr. that Meimi ever saw before.

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Statini Mailah was even more captivating in person, Asuka Jr. decided. In reality, she was only an inch or two shorter than himself, but Mailah's posture and aura boosted her another six inches in height. Even at the distance they were in now, he stared freely at the glazed pair of eyes that stared back in wonder and relief. Her strawberry red hair curled about her face, bringing out the pink tinge of blush on her cheeks. There was still an hint of fear he noticed, from her hitched breathing, the single tear that slowly made its way down her porcelain-smooth cheek, and the way she still clung onto his shirt but other than that she was good in hiding her emotions.

"Um," he began. _What now?_ He just rescued her from two drunken perverts and though he's managed to save several people in the past (while attempting to capture a certain thief) he hadn't the slightest idea how to manage this girl who looked so much like a certain someone he knew. It made him uncomfortable yet at the same time, he felt the thrill of being in the presence of a person such as this good looking model. His present bafflement towards what to do next was cut short when the girl who held his shirt tightly suddenly slid her arms around his shoulders and buried her face on his neck. He felt her breath a sigh of relief and he shivered involuntarily as he felt the heat of her breath warm his shirt and the skin underneath.

"Thank you."

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**A/N:** Denshaaaa!!!!!! Hem, sorry if people don't like these kinds of harassment situations. I certainly take them seriously--it's no joking matter. But talk about cliché; you don't want to know how many fanfics I've read that had this kind of thing in it but I wrote this really, a loooong time ago and am a sucker for the whole knight-in-shining-armor situations…meh. And reading it again reminds me of the train situation from Densha Otoko (j-drama). (rabu rabu!) Anyway, thanks for reading this up to now—this is actually where I sorta stopped writing; the rest of the story in my ms word continues for a page in detailed bullet point form, just to remind me of what has to happen next…now if only I can type it up..hmmmm…rips out hair in frustration—I really wished I was a seasoned writer now!!!

Booooo. comments? violent reactions? constructive criticism would be cool. (please be nice! ) )

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Chapter 9

The brushing of the leaves against each other revealed the short breeze drifting passed the two youths standing in the midst of the woods. They were there, maybe a minute—maybe two—the arms of the young model hooked around the neck of the young man and the young man stood, his arms straight at his side, unable to move or do anything at that moment. All he could think of was how close this person was, her flawless skin smelled of cherries and peaches and her curly, voluminous hair gave off a rosy aroma and…and how nervous he became when it came to these kinds of situations.

Slowly but gently, he eased her hold on him, reaching up to take her arms and let them down on her side. The expression on Ms. Statini's face was that of embarrassment but the rosy blush that surfaced on her cheeks only made him think of how adorable she looked at that moment—that he actually found himself blushing as well.

Mailah was the first to break the silence between them. She bowed low and straight making her loose ringlet curls spill over her shoulders and hide her face. "Again, thank you," she whispered, and straightened up to look at Asuka Jr.

"N-no, it's all right," he said, nervously shifting his gaze up towards the treetops. "Anyone would've done the same...I think." When he looked back down to meet her eyes, his heart jumped and he suddenly blinked; because for a moment, he thought he was looking straight at Meimi Haneoka. There was a glint of innocence about her eyes, and she almost had the look of adoration when she looked back at him. But never has Meimi thrown him an expression besides that of pure disgust or hate; so he mentally forced himself to brush the thought of Meimi aside. This girl, the one standing in front of him, stared back with that almost expressionless mouth but her bashful cheeks showed she was capable of being expressive. _Her non-smiling face was just for the camera,_ he realised. And her standing there in front of him almost made him feel like he was the only one who's ever seen that side of her—it felt almost secretive. He looked away again, lost in thought, lost in what to say next.

_God, she looks so much like Meimi,_ the thought resurfaced again. If he could look at the model from a different distance, turn those lips up a bit higher to a smile and make her crinkle her eyes up in delight, she could pass with flying colors. Meimi Haneoka's double; her twin. _Well, a better-dressed twin at that,_ he told himself. Either way, the fact that she looked like her at all suddenly pushed that little button in Asuka Jr.—the one button that seemingly his only classmate could ever push: the one that made him fall apart whenever he was around her.

"Um," his train of thought was cut off and Asuka Jr. cleared his throat. Stiffly, he suddenly stepped back and looked at her in a 'matter-of-fact' sort of way. "I'll walk you back to the resort." And he brushed passed her to head towards the direction from where they came from.

Turning around, she watched as the distance between them grew; Meimi bit her lip and frowned. Asuka Jr. wasn't acting like himself at all, she thought. Did I do something wrong? Before she could contemplate further, she realised she was about to get left behind— and the two men earlier could still be loitering in the premises. She ran after him without a second thought.

(**A/N:** I was feeling sappy and poetic at this moment. Meh. Too bad, it's gone now. XD)

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Meimi did not see Asuka Jr. the remaining of the afternoon. When she returned to the resort's grounds, she was whisked away once again by Kensuke, who asked where she had run off to. She didn't tell him anything but rather, brushed the question aside and asked what else he had for her to do. Kensuke accepted her mechanical answer and proceeded to show her to the make-up artist who was busy painting Yuki's face with shadows of blue and green. "Pool. One hour," he said to the two models, and he left them to the crew.

The photographer, fresh out of college, noticed something different about Meimi. Dressed as sea maidens, Kensuke had his two models wade in the shallow end of the pool while he took his shots of them. Unlike her previous poses, Meimi was looking away from the camera in more than half the shots and though the pictures turned out probably even better than before, Kensuke knew she was troubled inside.

Reviewing the shots he had taken in his laptop, he saw that Mailah's expressions perfectly fit the tone of the shoot—ice cold as water, fiery as her hair. Her absent expressions and the slight pout of her lips gave the photos a somewhat eerie feel to it but nevertheless, each shot seemed perfect for a full page photo print.

"Su—goi ne!" Sawatari Manato said in awe as he looked at the pictures over Ken's shoulder. "Now that's what I call picture perfect!" Ever since Meimi had introduced the young man to him, he'd been following Ken around like a lap dog. Him and his camera. It was getting annoying, really, but Ken was always up for teaching and inspiring the young. _Not that he was old,_ he told himself haughtily. _Dinner though_--_I'd have to lose the guy by dinner so I can speak to Meimi alone. I have to make sure she's doing all right._

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At about five pm, Meimi locked herself in "Mailah Statini's" room. She twiddled with the pen in her hand as she attempted to try once more at her math homework. Earlier, one of the resort staff enthusiastically offered her a calculator when she asked for one at the front desk so this time around she knew at least that the simple of mathematics was taken care of with no problem. That only left her with the questions and the formulas she had to use. She remembered crumpling up her homework and leaving it at the gazebo the day before but when she went back to retrieve it, she found it was no longer there. _They must have thrown it away_, she thought sadly.

But Meimi Haneoka's will was strong. Worse comes to worse, I could copy Kyoko's homework, she thought, but the idea of cheating being the option never to be chosen made her scrap that plan in a matter of seconds. What she did instead was to pick up the phone and call Siera.

"Siera," she said frantically, "Is it all right if I ask you for the problems? I lost my homework. Stupid of me, isn't it?" She gave a nervous laugh braced herself for a light scolding.

It never came.

"Sure, Meimi-chan." Siera said sweetly and proceeded to recite the questions, one by one, over the phone to her redhead friend on the other line. After she had finished, Meimi gratefully thanked her, hung up the phone, gripped her pen confidently, and immediately got to work. This was the second time she'd be doing it but she felt that at that moment, she was confident (what with her and a calculator to help her with her long division) to compute for the answers to the problems properly. She had two hours before call time for dinner and she planned to use that time wisely.

She did.

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"You know what I think?" Reina Takamiya announced loudly as she sat on the lobby couch. She had found Asuka Jr. walking around the grounds lost in though—seemingly frustrated or confused about something—and she decided to tag along beside him. Now they seated themselves comfortably on the soft lounge cushions and while Asuka Jr. still remained oblivious to his surroundings, Reina attempted to get through to him. "I think Statini's Saint Tail!" She crossed her arms confidently and looked at Asuka Jr. for any sort of reaction.

Asuka Jr. rolled his eyes upward. "That's what you said last before about Haneoka but that didn't turn out correct, did it?"

The memory of Saint Tail flying away in her numerous balloons that night of the fashion show reappeared in Reina's mind and she huffed in indignation. "That was just a minor error on my part. I'm over that." She suddenly sat up on her seat, her eyes wide with interest. "But think about it, Statini and Saint Tail are about the same height. They both have long red hair, and Yasuhiro told me earlier that they saw her dancing. Anyone as limber as that has to be as fit as Saint Tail if she were to be running on rooftops, don't you think?"

Reina stood up and fisted her hand. "Oh, I've got you now, Saint Tail," she grinned to herself. "You've fallen right into my trap and I'll be the one to turn you in…" Her declaration was cut short when Asuka Jr. stood up and she looked at him questioningly. He didn't look mad, but that didn't mean he was irritated at her rambling on like that.

"Reina, do me a favor," he said bluntly. "Leave Saint Tail to me. And while you're at it, leave Statini alone as well. She hasn't done anything to you. You assume too much." Waving his hand absently, he turned and left for the dining hall. "Remember, assuming is bad. It makes an 'ass' of 'u' and 'me.'"

Reina haughtily glared back at him. "How rude," she muttered and walked off to find Sawatari.

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**A/N:** Yay! I wrote a new chapter (well, new in my standards.) This chapter is the reason I stuck this story in It's so I get a push to finish this darn incomplete fanfic that's been collecting dust bunnies in my hard drive. I'm adding it in with the previous chapter, (meaning, both at the same time: the last old chapter and the first new chapter) because personally, I don't prefer cliffhangers and I'm feeling generous this 3am morning. Enjoy.

comments? violent reactions? constructive criticism would be cool.


	9. Chapter 10a

Part (a) of the next chapter...sorry, been busy, and I just wanted to post this before I left for the airport. Whoeee I'll type up the next part...when I find access to a laptop or comp.

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Reina and Sawatari lounged at their dinner table, both not paying much attention to their food. Aika's parents had the kitchen staff prepare an Italian based dinner to make Mailah feel more at home. Apparently, they hadn't read Mailah's interview stating that the only Italian part of her was her blood and name, not that she actually grew up in Italy. Nonetheless, the Aika wanted that Italian dinner so everyone got pasta. Sawatari poked at his pesto with a fork, frankly bored with the lack of conversation at the table. His dinner companion had dragged him to a free table and shooed anyone else who asked to join them. Of course, _she_ wasn't keeping up her part of the 'good dinner mate' bargain.

"Ne, Takamiya-san, why can't I eat with my friends?" He pointed to the table across the room to where his male friends were seated. From that end, they let out a loud laugh—probably a reaction to a shared joke—and as they shared friendly punches, Sawatari's eyes glazed over with envy and longing. Sitting up in his seat, he crossed his arms and huffed. "Why do you need me here anyway, Reina? Can't you do your spying from _their_ table?" He motioned at Ryoko and Kyoko's table. "Aren't they your friends?"

Reina smacked the back of his head with the rolled up table napkin. "Quiet! And don't get so friendly with me." She hissed, referring to the drop of honorific to her name. "We're here so I can get a good view. We're under cover, you and I." Leering back at him, she stabbed at the pasta, twirled her fork around a couple times, and then lifted it to her mouth gulping down on a large bite. Sawatari stared back at her with wide eyes. _This woman's crazy_, he thought, and he looked away suddenly feeling frightened.

"But why do you have to wear those?" he pointed at her face. She slapped his hand away.

"These are so I can look where I want to without anyone else knowing where my eyes are roaming. I swear, sometimes you can be so stupid."

"But we're indoors and it's night time! Won't anyone find it awkward anyway?"

"Shut up, Sawatari and eat your food. Don't act so suspicious."

_Like you're not acting suspicious, _he thought but said, "Yes, Ma'am." He knew better than to question further the inner workings of Reina Takamiya's somewhat deranged and paranoid mind. Defeated, he slumped his shoulders and bowed his head to its original position of looking utterly bored and useless.

Reina on the other hand, slid her sunglasses back up her nose and peeked in the direction of Asuka Daiki Jr._ Something's bothering him, _she noticed. Asuka Jr. sat with his friends but it seemed his mind was elsewhere. His eyebrows were furrowed, and his gaze shifted every now and then from his friends to another table. She did not have to follow his line of vision to know where—or rather_, who_—he was looking at.

Statini Mailah. A stunningly beautiful young model; the aura around her oozed with glamour and style that would make any fashionable female wish she had unlimited spending money in her credit card. This was the kind of power she had within reach: the kind that could set trends and break them at her will. Yet, from the short time she was here, Reina observed that there was that air of arrogance lacking from the young woman. She mostly kept to herself, only stopping to talk to a random fan who would be brave enough to walk up to her and shyly ask for an autograph (which she always graciously gave.) She didn't smile much apart from the slight upturn of the edges of her mouth and her eyes would now and then drift upward, as if day dreaming or in deep thought. Yet she didn't look sad either. She looked almost contemplative—as if part of her did not want to be where she was at the moment, but the other part didn't mind her present situation. Statini Mailah. She wasn't the usual model one would come across. She was an enigma; an enigma Reina had no time to waste on; yet the idea of solving such a mysterious person had her putting some effort into holding herself back.

Right now, her business was the dark haired detective. _Just what is going through his mind right now_, she wondered. Perhaps he was just thinking the same thing she was—how it was hard to figure out what was in the mind of the not-so-stereotypical model. His brows looked deep in thought. That must be it.

And suddenly, in the span of about 3 seconds, she felt it. A surge of…how to explain it? Reina was observing each movement of her young detective. From when his teeth caught his lower lip and bit it softly to when his eyes blinked twice to clear his thoughts and return to the present. He was staring again—almost absently—and, for a split second she caught it. That softening of a look. She almost sat straight up when she saw that look.

She had seen it before; many times before. Of course, she knew he wasn't aware of it. But it was there during _those_ times. On his face. In _those_ moments.

And now—here in this very room—it seemed this was no exception.

And afterwards, all she could feel was the pain in her chest as jealousy took over.

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A/N: awww, poor Takamiya-san...You're probably wondering whether I'll pin her as the main antagonist in this whole thing...hem hem. We'll see, we'll see. )

comments? violent reactions? constructive criticism would be cool.


	10. Chapter 10b

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A flutter of chatty lips occupied Meimi's ear the moment she sat down on their table. Yuki couldn't stop laughing at their memories at the beach—the flirtatious gazes thrown their way, and the favours that had been granted to them by the college vacationers who owned beach houses in the area. Though Meimi really felt somewhat passive towards the attention, Yuki took advantage of anything that came her way. 'I didn't have much growing up, Mailah-san,' she revealed to Meimi one summer afternoon. 'So you take what you get, when you can get it…but make sure you don't step on any other person's back while getting it. I had this one riff with this really ugly girl who thought she was all that….' And Meimi nodded and listened to her story. The woman was eccentric; wasn't that what they called people who had money but were weird in person and character? Yes, Yuki had her days and if Meimi didn't get to know that other side of this chatterbox, she wouldn't have seen passed the firecrackers to the bottom of the container where the humble, caring friend that Yuki really was hiding. And because Meimi showed much understanding—being best friends with a sister-in-training tends to do that to a person—Yuki quickly grew fond of her one week friend, knowing this was a person she could always be herself with. To hell with the plastic smiles of the other models—Yuki saw that Meimi was a genuine friend.

Another bout of boisterous laughter rose up from the table after Yuki's supposed hilarious joke about her drunken father at the fish market apparently found its audience. Meimi got caught up in the entertainment she threw her head back, covered her water-filled mouth with her hand suppressed a laughter that could have ended her title as the 'most poised.' A tap on her shoulder made her turn her head toward Ken and leaning toward him so that she could hear him better. "Yes?"

"So, Mailah, I was thinking," Ken said in a somewhat enthusiastic tone. "I'd like to do a photo shoot with just you and this guy I found loitering around the pool yesterday afternoon. I was hoping you'd be able to put on your charms and ask him to do me, I mean you, this big favour. Whaddaya say? He's like one of the few decent looking chaps I've seen in this whole resort—well, apart from the one staff member who gave me a towel this morning but he doesn't count. "

Meimi raised an eyebrow. "Hm? Who're you thinking of taking a picture of anyway? Is he here?" She looked around the dining hall, eyes meeting for a second the owner of the dark shades that was Reina Takamiya. _Was she looking at her direction?_ She shrugged the thought when Reina picked up her fork and flicked a piece of pasta in Sawatari's direction. _Those two…are so meant to be..._.Meimi chuckled and continued to scan the room.

"There," Ken pointed toward the table of boys, and Meimi followed his gaze and met the eyes of Asuka Jr, who at that moment was also looking back at them. She turned to Ken, giving him a scolding look.

"That is never going to happen," she replied. "He isn't exactly what you'd call a 'willing' participant. He does what he wants to do, not what people ask or tell him to do. Sorry, Ken." She patted Ken on his forearm in a sympathetic gesture but he didn't seem to want to give up just yet. Apparently, Ken was persistent when he wanted to be. He suddenly slid his chair back and took hold of the hand that was previously on his shoulder. Together, Ken brought Meimi with him and they both walked towards a now curious/suspicious looking Asuka Jr. who was now sitting upright and staring openly back at the two figures coming toward him.

When the two reached the seated young man, Ken gave Asuka Jr. a toothy grin. "Ne, sorry if I'm bothering your dinner—although it does seem like you're pretty much finished eating—can I ask you for a really big favour?" Both Meimi and Asuka Jr. raised their eyebrows at Ken, one in distaste and the other total confusion.

"And that is…?"

Ken tugged on Meimi's arm and brought her to stand in between them like a shield. "I need an individual who can partner my little ruby gem in tomorrow's shoot. How about it?" Asuka Jr. shifted his eyes from Ken to Meimi, who stood there half dumbfounded at Ken's move and half bewildered as she stared back at him. Obviously, it didn't seem that she wasn't in on Ken's proposal.

"Sorry, I don't model," was Asuka Jr.'s immediate response and he neatly placed his napkin on the table, keeping his serious gaze locked with Ken's own as if challenging him to try and convince him otherwise. Before Ken could utter a reasonable argument (or flattery, since there were some people who are easily swayed with charming compliments) Meimi grabbed her hand from Ken's hold and sniffed disapprovingly at Ken's approach.

"Told you," she said, lifting her eyebrow as if she knew it was going to happen all along, and she walked out to get some much needed fresh air.

Ken shrugged her comment aside and tried to focus on the seated young man. "Look, a guy like you—you got the looks! All you need is the opportunity to make it big and Baby, I tell ya, I know a success when I see one….Hey, where are you going?" Apparently, Asuka Jr. really didn't seem interested in what Ken had to offer—not one bit. The photographer's comments were completely ignored from the very start of his sentence and before Ken could even blink, Asuka Jr. had stood up and turned to leave.

He didn't seem irritated, Ken thought. Not at all. On the contrary, he seemed more concerned about other things; he noted the furrowed eyebrows as if the young man was deep in thought, oblivious to the people who had only moments ago been staring in their direction, oblivious to Ken's insistence, his proposals shot down. "Well I'll be damned. That's the second person I've met who's turned a deaf ear to a future of fat paychecks. Interesting." Smirking, Ken stood up straighter than he had that entire night. "Now I want him even more for this shoot."

Reina Takamiya watched with a wary eye as Asuka Jr. left her line of vision. She was losing her object of affection again, to another one—and she absolutely did not know which was worse: to lose him to her charismatic red-head classmate who seemed to be getting enough attention of her other classmates already, or to lose him to a very well endowed red-head model who could make the men around her swoon in her presence. She pursed her lips together, and looked back at her dining companion, who was looking at her quite oddly. "What are you up to?"

"Nothing of your concern," was her answer but in her head echoed a different answer; _I'm not about to give him up without a fight._

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A/N: Yikes. Sorry about Reina. She's a good person at heart...I think. Sorry as well for an almost after year update. I'm having...problems. school, home, personal—you name it. Let's just say as well, when I'm not in class, I'm studying; and when I'm not studying, I'm doing the essentials (eating, keeping clean, staying sane) and catching up on the lack of sleep I have already. points to dark circles under eyes school really sucks but I'm a 'study-holic' so I'm not really complaining. heehee.

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	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

o--O--o

If there's one thing to be said about Meimi Hanaoka, it's that she always learns from her mistakes. From that afternoon's mishap still fresh in her mind, she made sure not to lose sight of the buildings as she followed the dimly lit path towards the gazebo and breathed in the warm summer breeze. As much as she loved being in the presence of her friends and family, she really enjoyed it even more when she had time to sit by herself and ponder on life's mysteries. At home, she spent her alone time with Siera, or when the sister-in-training was busy, Meimi just took to sitting in an empty chapel and quietly talking to God about her everyday happenings. It was a form of meditation—a way to keep her relaxed, especially when her mind got flooded with many issues that were usually the sources for her headaches. Thinking alone and sorting her priorities was like dreaming, Meimi decided one day. People can live without sleep, but they can't live without dreams; because dreaming was the unconscious way our minds handled our unresolved issues and anxieties. Without dreams, we'd die. And without Meimi's silent moments, she felt helpless and weak. It was never a good feeling.

Saint Tail had always been one who exemplified courageousness and confidence. She was smart, quick-witted, and good-willed and that called for the real person behind the mysterious thief to be just as strong as she. But recently, she found that it was getting harder and harder to keep her identity a secret and she questioned whether it was because the young detective was just getting better at his job or perhaps she was getting clumsy. She thought that maybe her problems were beginning to pile up and she needed to sort some of them before she took on another nightly case for the summer she made sure Saint Tail didn't have the time—or reason—to show up around town.

She didn't consider it running away in that she was only trying to avoid her responsibilities but that she was only human and in order to help a lot more people in the future, it would require her not to be caught—and in order for her not to be caught, she would have to always be ready and with a clear conscious.

Now, in her situation, Meimi was beginning to wonder if she had made the right decision. _Maybe another personality in my life wasn't the best idea_, Meimi thought. Her modelling career should have ended when she left Hokkaido, but it seemed to have followed her back home. Her best friend's words echoed in her mind, 'Meimi-san, you care too much about other people that sometimes you forget about yourself.' When she thought about it, Meimi _did_ pull the Mailah bit in order to help Ken out with his job when in fact she didn't have to. In his line of work he has to deal with snooty and uncooperative models but her heart went out to Ken's suffering and she risked her friends finding out about her 'alter-ego' when she accepted his plead for help. _Meimi, you gotta learn to say "no" one day, _she told herself.

She rounded a fat-trunked tree and she saw the gazebo in sight. But to Meimi's dismay, the light for the gazebo had been turned on and there was already a person there, busily scribbling on paper, deep in thought. Meimi had hoped to have the gazebo all to herself, sit down on the table top and meditate while listening to the crickets singing but it seemed that was now out of the question and she would have to look for another place to settle her mind. A fraction of a second before she decided to turn around, though, she noticed that the seated person was none other than Asuka Jr.

What he was doing at the gazebo, writing instead of hanging out with his classmates puzzled Meimi, who took Asuka Jr. to be a social kind of guy, but what was more interesting to know was exactly _what_ he was writing on that sheet of paper. She stepped forward towards his back and in the process, stepping on a stick, snapping it in two and startling the both of them. Asuka Jr.'s head jerked up in an instant at the sound and twisted around to see who had walked interrupted his 'alone' time. Guilty look plastered on her face, Meimi stepped into the light and watched the young detective's eyebrows raise up in surprise.

"Hello," she murmured apologetically. Asuka Jr. just looked at her, at a loss of words. It was that model again; that model who he had the most difficult time getting out of his head all because she reminded him too much of... "What've you got there, Hon? You look like you're thinking real hard about something." She stepped up onto the platform, her slippers making only a slight sound as they met the varnished wooden floor.

Asuka Jr. quickly collected his papers, folding them neatly from their already made crease and casually placed his pencil over it. "Nothing. Just—a letter." He watched the young red-head climb the seat and settle herself on the table beside his papers so she could face him and as unnerving as it was already for the junior detective, he kept as still as possible, trying to figure out why she was there of all places and why she even wanted to talk to him for that matter.

Meimi nodded, accepting his very vague answer—there was no reason for Asuka Jr. to really tell her, a stranger, what exactly he was doing so she didn't want to prod. "I—want to thank you again," she said matter-of-factly, fiddling with her thumbs, "for this afternoon." And then she looked straight at him with the seriousness of the subject shone in her eyes. "I don't know what would have happened if you weren't there."

Asuka Jr. shook his head and tried to dismiss it. "It was nothing. I do this all the time."

A perfectly shaped eyebrow went up. "You go looking for damsels in distress?"



"I mean—no! What I'm trying to say is that, well," Asuka Jr. turned a nice shade of red knowing that his proclamation sounded somewhat boastful; and he was _not_ a boastful person—at least, he didn't consider himself as one. "I just try to help people out. You know, thefts, police work..." His voice trailed off. Mailah was finding amusement at him and his discomfort.

She held up a hand to stop him from explaining further. "Sure, I understand."

"What about you," Asuka Jr. asked. Meimi looked at him questioningly. "Why were you there wandering off immediately right after your shoot?" He watched her cheeks turn a tinge of pink and look to the side.

"I...wanted to spend some time by myself..." Meimi got out.

"You're lying," he cut in and Meimi raised her eyebrow.

"You are very frank, you know that?" Gazing down at the young man, she wanted to give him a look of superiority and maybe put him in his place for speaking like that to a well known model. But in a split second she noticed him smiling up at her—not in mockery, no, but as if he was teasing her.

"Sorry." He remarked. "Sometimes I can't help what comes out of my mouth. You could call it a 'problem' I've been trying to remedy for a long time..." Twiddling with the pencil he held in his hand, his eyebrows furrowed, recalling the countless times he'd blurted out useless insults to his classmate, constantly picking on everything about her.

_Ugh, what is that smell, Haneoka? It's like a cat died on you. _

_Is that what I think it is? A girly hair clip? Only on your head, Haneoka._

_Cleaning duties, Haneoka? You missed a spot. Right there. Behind your ear._

"Well," Meimi said, drawing Asuka Jr. back out from his own world, "as long as you're willing to change, anything is possible." She smiled kindly at him and Asuka Jr. almost went weak from the look. _Haneoka's never really given me a sincere smile before, has she..._ "By the way, I have yet to learn the name of my saviour. I don't mean to be vain but I'm sure I don't need to introduce myself since you called out my name so familiarly this afternoon."

"It's Asuka Daiki. Junior. Asuka Jr. My dad's—"

"Asuka Daiki Senior. Right." Meimi couldn't help but give a slight giggle which earned her another smile from the young man. "So, Daiki-kun...Why is it," she tilted her head and leered slightly, "that you're the first guy to look at me as if I have something large and perhaps disgusting attached to my face?"

Asuka Jr. frowned. "What?"

"Don't think I don't notice each and every single person that looks at me. Models may exude the word _bimbo_, but I'm far from it. You have the most intrigued look on your face when you were staring at our table—and don't try to deny that—I see all." Meimi sat up straight when Asuka Jr. looked ready to defend himself. "Like that girl with the sunglasses. She's another mystery with an agenda. I'm quite fascinated by you two."

He didn't have to think long and hard to realize she was talking about Takamiya. He noticed the young woman as well trying be discreet but doing an obvious failure of a job keeping a low profile during dinner_. So he was looking at her differently, huh_, he thought to himself. That's because she looks so much like Meimi Haneoka. Even this close, he had this feeling she was her but there was absolutely no way she could be his classmate. _Look at her. She's perfect. _The curls of her hair shone even in the weak light of the gazebo. _And another thing, _he argued with himself_, if she was Haneoka, he'd have a hard time keeping himself from picking a fight with her. _But he wasn't. He surprised himself today realizing that he was actually getting along with the model that looked like his red-headed classmate. He hadn't made any smart remarks, said nothing that could potentially anger the young woman, and for once he was able to sincerely smile at her without looking like the idiot he'd forever imagined in his mind when faced with having to be civil towards Haneoka. "You know," he answered honestly, "you actually remind me of someone I know."

Meimi raised her eyebrows in surprise. _Would he say it?_ "Really?"

"Yeah. There's this girl. In my class. She—" he stumbled a bit. "She looks a lot like you. Your face. Your hair...well, it's straight but the colour's just about right. Funny thing is..." His voice trailed off and he searched for the words. There was no reason to lie. "it's like I can talk to you so easily. But with her...I don't know."



Meimi looked puzzled. _What was he trying to say, exactly?_ But she didn't say anything. She waited until he finished.

"Well, with her—I—well, we're always fighting." He saw the model nod with slight understanding so he continued. "Every time I see her, I told you about how I can't control my bluntness; and this solely applies to this person. I always say something and I'm always mad. There's something about her that irritates me all the time." Then he looked at the seated girl beside him. "But I'm surprised. It hasn't happened with you. You, who look almost _exactly _like her. Well," he shifted in his seat, "you _do _look prettier than her...but still you'd think I'd be falling head over heels over a pretty girl and you _definitely_ are prettier than she is—" he blurted. "But somehow it's just _her_ that I have this problem with...I don't think you get what I'm trying to say." His shoulders slumped a bit. "That's okay. Sometimes, I don't understand myself either."

Meimi's eyes welled up slightly and caught herself before she turned completely red. "You...Do you like this girl?" She whispered quietly and slowly. As each word of that question passed through her lips, she became more and more nervous about what she was afraid to hear. This conversation, she decided, was not exactly what she had pictured a conversation with Daiki Asuka Jr. to be.

Asuka Jr. looked deep in thought. That question had crossed his mind before but he had always brushed it off as 'impossible' or 'inconceivable.' There was no way he would actually have feelings for Meimi Haneoka. That girl is so prissy and such a klutz. There was nothing about Meimi Haneoka that was likeable to Asuka Jr... Or was there? "I don't know..." That was all he could say. "Do you think I'm in a denial of sorts?" He turned to the model, who looked contemplative.

"I'm not sure either." She answered. "I'm flattered that you're able to feel comfortable in my presence but I'm quite baffled to why you can't get along with this girl...Are you sure she—"

"She looks _exactly _like you, Mailah-san," he said, matter-of-factly.

Meimi nodded. "Okay." There was an awkward silence that followed. Asuka Jr. didn't know what to make of this situation so he kept silent. And then suddenly, Meimi straightened up, her eyes lighting up from a grand thought. "I just had an idea."

"What?" Asuka Jr.'s ears suddenly perked up at the word 'idea.' What did this young model have planned in that mind of hers, he wondered.

Meimi quickly jumped off of the table and sat down on the seat so she was level with him. "How about," she clearly pronounced each word so that he could hear and so she could hear herself even suggesting the idea to him. "You practice getting along with me until you feel comfortable enough to speak with your lady friend?"

She was giving him a hopeful look and Asuka Jr. might have laughed at the idea but the sincerity of her face told Asuka Jr. to think of the possibility of one day getting along with one Meimi Haneoka and he slowly but eventually gave a small nod at her proposal.

Meimi waited a while longer for a response from the young detective. She was almost scared he'd burst out laughing and once again, she'd be humiliated—on a different level and as a different person but nonetheless she felt if that ever happened, she'd feel so ashamed of herself knowing she was hated so much by the young man. Waiting as the seconds of silence went by, she was starting to think that maybe it had been a bad idea. But then the edges of his mouth showed a curl. And soon, Asuka Jr. was beaming at her.

Picking up both hands of the utterly surprised Mailah Statini, Asuka Jr. gave out a cry of joy. "That's a great idea, Mailah-san!"

"Oh!" She exclaimed. "So—"

"It's a deal! I mean, that is if you don't mind spending time with a guy like me." The young girl shook her head thus stating she didn't mind. Asuka Jr. still couldn't believe the wonderful opportunity offered to him—and coming from the beautiful model, no less. _If this works out, I won't have the urge make Meimi cry any longer...No more..._

o--O--o

A/N: Darn. This wasn't supposed to be this long. And I haven't read over it... so sorry for any mistakes, run-on sentences or over used commas. This is actually...Half of what I had planned for this chapter. I guess the other half will have to be separated.

comments? violent reactions? constructive criticism would be cool.


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